Highlighting whole immigrant stories through food

The Telling Immigrant Food Stories Network Gathering will bring new journalistic tools and networking opportunities to journalists and culinary professionals, allowing them to tell important food stories from the perspective of new Americans. Food journalism is an especially effective means to highlight important issues within immigrant communities and to portray immigrants as the fully-dimensional people that they are to audiences that may have lost contact with their own immigrant roots or are hostile to the needs of today’s immigrants. Designed to be immersive and intensive, the Network Gathering will focus on developing story ideas for presentation to a panel of editors from national and local media outlets. We will make special efforts to encourage participation by people who work and live in Detroit. Based on similar workshops Feet in 2 Worlds has organized in New York City, the curriculum focuses on ethical issues in food journalism and reporting on immigrants and immigrant communities, and a multimedia approach to telling stories about critical issues in food in immigrant communities such as child nutrition and education, labor and employment, anti-hunger efforts, sustainability, climate change, and federal, state and/or local food policies, as well as stories about immigrant culture and culinary traditions.

Coordinators of this network gathering are Stephanie Rodriguez, Adela Nieves, Martina Guzman, and John Rudolph .

Call for Participation

Fi2W journalists come from immigrant communities and the nation’s large and diverse ethnic media sector. Largely focused on first and second-generation immigrants, Fi2W journalists report in ethnic communities and go places where public radio and other mainstream media outlets rarely tread. Their reports highlight social issues, human interest stories, arts and culture, personalities, and politics. Feet in 2 Worlds documents the construction of a new American identity by connecting immigrant stories to mainstream news.

Our intention is to hold the workshop as part of the Allied Media conference that will bring new journalistic tools and networking opportunities to journalists and culinary professionals, allowing them to tell important food stories from the perspective of new Americans.

Food journalism is an especially effective means to highlight important issues within immigrant communities and to portray immigrants as the fully-dimensional people that they are to audiences that may have lost contact with their own immigrant roots or are hostile to the needs of today’s immigrants.

Based on similar workshops Feet in 2 Worlds has organized in New York City, the curriculum focuses on ethical issues in food journalism and reporting on immigrants and immigrant communities, and a multimedia approach to telling stories about critical issues in food in immigrant communities such as child nutrition and education, labor and employment, anti-hunger efforts, sustainability, climate change, and federal, state and/or local food policies, as well as stories about immigrant culture and culinary traditions.

Attendance will be limited to 20 participants and at least half of the attendees will be from Detroit and immediate environs. The application for this network gathering is now closed.